Fela Kuti
Fela is a man of contradictions. That's why he's so intriguing. People who love him forgive the flaws in him.
His songs are often longer than 20 minutes and are sung in a slurred Pidgin English that is almost incomprehensible. His music is influenced by Christian hymns, classical music, jazz, Yoruba chant, and horn-and-guitar heavy highlife.
He was a musician
Fela Kuti embodied the idea that music is an instrument of change. He used his music to advocate for changes in the political and social spheres and his influence is present in the world in the present. His musical style, Afrobeat, is a synthesis of African and Western influences. Its roots are in West-African high-life music and funk, but it has since evolved into its own style.
His political activism was fierce, and he acted without fear. He used his music to protest government corruption and human rights violations. Songs such as "Zombie", "Coffin for the State Head" and others were shrewd critiques of Nigeria's regime. He also made use of Kalakuta as a place to meet like-minded people and to encourage political activism.
The play includes a large portrait of his late mother Funmilayo ransome-Kuti. She was a prominent feminist and activist. Shantel Cribbs plays her, and she does a fantastic job of expressing her significance in Fela's life. The play also explores on her political involvement. Despite her declining health she refused to be tested for AIDS and instead chose traditional treatment.
He was a singer
Fela Ransome-Kuti was a complex musician who used his music to facilitate political change. He is credited as the creator of afrobeat. It was an invigorating hybrid of funk and traditional African rhythms. He was also a constant critic of Nigeria's governmental and religious leaders.
Fela's mother was an anti-colonial suffragist and it's not surprising that he has a love for social commentary and politics. His parents wanted him to be medical doctor but he had different plans.
While he began in a more political highlife vein, a trip to America could alter his perspective forever. Exposure to Black power movements and the leaders like Malcolm X and Eldridge Cleaver would have a profound influence on his music. He adopted a Pan-Africanism ideology, which would inform and guide his later work.
He was a songwriter
Fela met Black Power activists such as Stokely Carmichael, and Malcolm X while in the United States. This experience led him to start an activist group known as the Movement of the People and create songs that expressed the ideas that he held about political activism and black awareness. His ideas were expressed publicly by yabis - a type of that he described as 'freedom expression'. He also began to impose strict moral codes for his band, including refusing to take medications from doctors trained in the West.
Fela returned to Nigeria and began to build his own club in Ikeja. The snares of police and military officials was almost constant. His Mosholashi-Idi Oro hangers repopulated the area surrounding the club with hard drugs particularly "bana" and "yamuna" (heroin). Fela kept his integrity despite this. His music is a testament of his determination to challenge authority and demanding that popular ambitions are manifested in official goals. It is an amazing legacy that will be remembered for generations to come.
He was a poet
In his music, Fela used light-hearted sarcasm to discuss political and economic issues in Nigeria. He also mocked his audience, the government, and himself. He referred to himself during these shows as "the big dick in the little pond." The authorities did not take his jokes lightly and he was often detained and imprisoned. He was also beaten by the authorities. He eventually took the name Anikulapo, which means "he is carrying death in his pouch."
In 1977, Fela recorded a song called "Zombie," which compared soldiers to zombies who obeyed orders without hesitation. The military was irritated by this and conducted a raid on Kalakuta Republic. They burned the place down and beat its inhabitants. During the raid, Fela's mother was thrown from her second-floor window.
Fela developed Afrobeat in the years that followed the country's independence. Afrobeat is a music genre that combines jazz and indigenous African rhythm. His songs criticised European cultural imperialism and defended African traditional traditions and religions. He also criticized fellow Africans who violated their country's customs. He also stressed the importance of human rights and freedom.
He was a rapper
Fela Anikulapo Kuti, trumpeter and saxophonist, was born in Abeokuta in 1938. He is a pioneer of Afrobeat music. He grew up with jazz and rock and roll, as well as traditional African music and chants, which helped form his unique style of music. After his trip to the United States in 1969, Fela met Sandra Smith, an activist from the Black Power movement, and her ideas impacted his work profoundly.
Upon his return to Nigeria, Fela began using his music as a political tool. He criticized the government of his home country and argued that African culture should not be submerged by Western sensibilities. He also wrote about social injustices and human right violations. fela attorneys was arrested repeatedly for his criticism of military.
Fela was also a fervent advocate of marijuana in Africa, which is known as "igbo". He also held "yabis" (public discussions) at Afrika Shrine, where he would ridicule officials of the government and express his views regarding freedom of expression and the beauty of women's body. Fela also had a group of young women, who danced at his shows and acted as vocal backups to him.
He was a dancer
Fela was a master of musical fusion, taking elements from beat music, and highlife to create his own unique style. He influenced a generation African musicians and was an outspoken critic of colonial rule.
Despite being tortured and arrested by the Nigerian military junta and witnessing his mother be killed, Fela refused to leave the country. He died in 1997 from AIDS-related complications.
Fela was an activist in the political arena who was critical of the oppressive Nigerian government and supported the principles of Pan Africanism. His albums, such as 1973's Gentleman focused on the oppression of both government and colonial forces. He also pushed for black-power and criticized Christianity, Islam and other non-African imports for dividing the people of Africa. The title track from an album released in 1978, Shuffering and Shmiling, describes the over-crowded public buses packed with workers "shuffering and shmiling." Fela was a strong opponent of hypocrisy in religion. The dancers of Fela were an excellent complement to his music. They were sensual, vibrant, and elegant. Their contributions were as significant as Fela's words.
He was an activist for the political cause.
Fela Kuti was an activist who used music to challenge the unjust authority. He adapted his knowledge of American jazz and funk to African rhythms and modes and created music that was ready for a fight. Most of his songs start as slow instrumentals, gradually adding short-lined melodies and riffs until they explode with a ferocious vigor.
Fela, unlike many artists who were scared to discuss their political views was unflinching and uncompromising. He stood up for what he believed in even when it was risky. His mother, Funmilayo Ransome Kuti was a prominent feminist who was the leader of the Nigerian Women's movement. His father was a protestant minister and the president of the teachers union.
He also founded Kalakuta Republic - a recording studio and commune that became a symbol of the resistance. The government raided the commune, destroying the property and injuring Fela badly. He refused to give up, and continued to speak against the government. He died from complications of AIDS in 1997. His son Femi continues to carry on his political and musical legacy.
He was a father
Music is often thought of as a political act and musicians use lyrics to demand change. But some of the most powerful music-related protests don't rely on words in any way. Fela Kuti is among the artists mentioned above, and his music still resonates today. He was the first to pioneer Afrobeat which combines traditional African harmonies and rhythms with jazz and funk, being influenced by artists such as James Brown.
Fela's mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, was an activist and unionist who fought against colonialism. She helped form the Abeokuta Women's Union and fought against gender-discriminatory taxation laws. She also studied Marxism and believed that Nigeria should serve its entire population.
Fela's son Seun continues his father's legacy through the band Egypt 80 that's touring the world this year. The music of Egypt 80 combines the sounds of Fela with a scathing denunciation of power structures that still exist in the present. The new album, Black Times, will be released in March. Many fans attended the funeral in Tafawa Balewa square. The crowd was so large, that police had to block the entrance.